Here’s a gorgeous recipe that I put together for a chestnut soup, that’s rich and velvety and would make a lovely starter for Christmas lunch. We had this for dinner yesterday with a watercress salad and it went down a treat. The crispy croutons made with sage butter, and the earthy flavours of the puy lentils make the perfect topping. Chestnuts are a low GL food containing complex carbohydrate, fibre, excellent amounts of vitamin C, healthy fats and minerals, so give this a go I’m sure you’ll love it!

Chestnut Soup With Puy Lentils And Sage Butter Croutons

400g chestnuts (vacu-packed, tinned or roasted)

1 stick celery finely chopped

1 carrot, diced

3 echalion shallots, finely chopped

1 clove garlic chopped

1 small sprig fresh thyme

Tablespoon olive oil

6 leaves of fresh sage roughly torn

1 bay leaf

Approx 1.5 litre vegetable stock (according to how thick you like soup)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:

Slices of wholemeal seeded bread, cut into cubes

Tablespoon organic butter

Few sage leaves to taste

Tablespoon per serving cooked puy lentils

Saute the carrot, shallots and celery in olive oil until softened. Add the garlic, thyme and sage until aroma is released then add the stock

Put the chestnuts into the pot and simmer for approximately 15 minutes

Allow to cool slightly before blending until really smooth

Fry the cubed bread in butter until golden, adding the sage leaves at the last minute

Serve the soup into bowls and top with warm puy lentils and sage butter croutons